YALSA Board of Directors Meeting Via Conference Call March 8, 2013 Item #1 Topic: Background: Action Required: Approval of Minutes from the 13 Midwinter Meeting Minutes are the official record of the Board. It is important that they be as accurate as possible. Any oversights or errors should be identified and corrected for the permanent record. The minutes below have been submitted by Sarajo Wentling, YALSA s Secretary, for the Board s approval. Consent YALSA BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEETING DRAFT MINUTES JANUARY 24-28, 2014, Philadelphia YALSA is a national association of librarians, library workers and advocates whose mission is to expand and strengthen library services for teens, aged 12-18. Through its member-driven advocacy, research, and professional development initiatives, YALSA builds the capacity of libraries and librarians to engage, serve and empower teens. Board I Sat. 1:00-5:00 in the Convention Center, room 105A Present: Carrie Kausch, Vicki Emery, Pam Spencer Holley, Maureen Hartman, Joy Kim, Jennifer Korn, Carla Land, Candice Mack, Jack Martin, Renee McGrath, Krista McKenzie, Shannon Peterson, Chris Shoemaker, Sarah Sogigian, Gail Tobin, Sarajo Wentling, April Witteveen, Beth Yoke Guests: Rob Banks, Sophie Brookover, mk Eagle, Allyson Evans, Jennifer Foster, Karen Keys, Todd Krueger, Rizwan Malik, Matt McLain, Ana Elisa de Campos Salles Board II Sun. 4:30-5:30 in the Convention Center, room 105A Present: Carrie Kausch, Vicki Emery, Pam Spencer Holley, Maureen Hartman, Joy Kim, Jennifer Korn, Carla Land, Candice Mack, Jack Martin, Renee McGrath, Krista McKenzie, Shannon Peterson, Chris Shoemaker, Sarah Sogigian, Gail Tobin, Sarajo Wentling, April Witteveen, Beth Yoke Guests: Linda Braun, Tiffany Calderon, Emily Calkins, mk Eagle, Maggie Farrell, Sari Feldman, Sarah Kepple, Gretchen Kolderup, Nicola McDonald, Beth McNeil, Pat Wand -1-
YALSA Board of Directors Midwinter 2013 Board III Mon. 1:00-2:30 in the Convention Center, room 105A Present: Carrie Kausch, Vicki Emery, Pam Spencer Holley, Maureen Hartman, Joy Kim, Jennifer Korn, Carla Land, Candice Mack, Jack Martin, Renee McGrath, Krista McKenzie, Shannon Peterson, Chris Shoemaker, Sarah Sogigian, Gail Tobin, Sarajo Wentling, April Witteveen, Beth Yoke Guests: mk Eagle, Mary Hastler, Allison Tran We ll pause in the agenda to accommodate information exchanges with: ALA Executive Board Representative, Rob Banks at 1:10 on Sat. ALA Candidate for President-Elect, Sari Feldman at 5:10 on Sun. ALA Candidate for President-Elect, Maggie Farrell at 5:20 on Sun. BARC Representative, Pat Wand, at 5:00 on Sun. DRAFT MINUTES Call to Order S. Peterson called the meeting to order at 1:03 pm EST on January 25, 2014. Information Forum Board I Shannon shared some updates from the Division Presidents Lunch. There was discussion on financial literacy in several divisions and that might be a good place for inter-divisional cooperation. Other Divisions are impressed by YALSA s The Future of Library Services for and with Teens: a Call to Action report. Krista was involved in YALSA 201 along with Priscille Dando and Sarah Flowers. She reported that over 30 people attended including many student and first year members. Pam shared from BARC that it wasn t ALA Publishing s purview to buy Neal-Schumann but they are taking the losses from that purchase. They are exploring new products and platforms. Chris had lunch with Courtney Young and the other President elects. Instead of having her own presidential platform she s looking to support other initiatives from the Divisions. Allyson Evans chair of the new RUSA/YALSA Young Adult Reference Services committee came to answer any questions about the new committee. The committee s charge is to update the reference services to teens guidelines as well at other projects. YALSA appointments to the committee will take place in March and the group will begin July 1st. Sophie Brookover asked about the process of responding to or having input on Board agenda items. Rob Banks, YALSA s ALA Executive Board Representative, shared that advance registration numbers for Midwinter were encouraging but weather could affect numbers. ALA membership was slightly down last year but still in line with declines in employment. There is a new brochure Why ALA? to help encourage membership. Budget ended with a small surplus of $76K which allowed staff to get a one time 2% bonus. The Declaration for Libraries -2-
is going extremely well and there will be a large campaign for support of school libraries in March. Board II Shannon thanked Maureen Hartman and Linda Braun for their work on the A New Vision for Library Services for Teens session and the group shared some impressions from that session. Session attendees included people from other organizations including someone from the Gates Foundation and IMLS. Tiffany Calderon from Best Buy shared information about the work that they are doing with teens and technology. Pat Wand, YALSA s BARC representative stated it was her understanding that all division leaders are expected to attend the Planning and Budget Assembly (PBA) meeting at conference. She also clarified the missions for PBA and the Division Leaders BARC meeting. She reiterated the communications and timing issues that have come up regarding BARC meetings. Board III Jennifer Korn went to the ALA Committee on Legislation this morning and a member of COL mentioned YALSA as an example for our involvement in Library Legislative Day and shared info about how YALSA used Giving Tuesday to raise funds to send members to Legislative Day. Sarah mentioned that several members brought concerns to her about Board transparency and she did ask them if they would run for Board. Beth reminded us that members should be encouraged to contact staff or the President with their concerns. Renee shared that $380 has been collected from YALSA pin sales at Midwinter. Shannon shared that the Harry Potter Alliance is excited about YALSA s The Future of Library Services for and with Teens: a Call to Action report and working with YALSA. Adoption of the Agenda Motion #1. P. Spencer Holley moved that the YALSA Board adopt the agenda with flexibility. K. McKenzie seconded. Motion passed. Mission Moment -- Saturday Teens Top Ten -- Anna Lam Item #1.The response for the Teens Top Ten grants was stronger than for the Dollar General Teen Read Week grants even though they were for less money perhaps because of a misconception that grant ideas have to be on the cutting edge. The group was reminded to encourage members to apply and to tell them that ideas at all levels are welcome. Consent Items Saturday Motion #2. C. Shoemaker moved that the YALSA Board accept the consent items presented in the agenda. C. Mack seconded. Motion passed. Approval of Minutes from December 2013 Board Meeting Sarajo Wentling -3-
YALSA Board of Directors Midwinter 2013 Slate for 14 YALSA Election Sarah Flowers & Pam Holley Executive Director s Goals for FY14 Beth Yoke YALS Editor Midwinter Report Linda Braun JRLYA Editor Midwinter Report Denise Agosto The Hub Blog Manager Midwinter Report Allison Tran YALSAblog Manager Midwinter Report Wendy Stephens Confirmation of Appointee to Fill Board Vacancy Shannon Peterson Board Fellow Confirmation Shannon Confirmation of Advocacy Taskforce Charge Shannon Confirmation of Future of Teens & Libraries Report Adoption Shannon Mega Issue Saturday Mega Issue Discussion Shannon Impact of the Future of Library Services for & with Teens report on members The group discussed the feedback from attendees at the Midwinter session, A New Vision for Library Services for Teens. Strategies and ideas for starting to move forward were shared and discussed. The group acknowledged that there is both a need for YALSA to provide big picture marketing as well as tools for members advocate and make changes locally. Action Items Saturday Pre-Meeting Division Councilor Report Vicki Emery Vicki shared information about conversations on Council listserv between conferences as well as some of the topics and resolutions expected in Council. PhD Fellowship Proposal Cindy Welch Shannon will work with the authors on refining the proposal to come back to the Board. Jack will work with the Capacity Building Standing Committee to determine funding sources. Strategic Planning Committee Joy Kim Joy shared that with the creation of the Board standing committees, there is overlap between them and the Strategic Planning Committee and that those members could be -4-
better utilized elsewhere in the organization. Motion #3. J. Kim moved that the YALSA Board vote to put the proposal to sunset the Strategic Planning Committee on the 2014 ballot for the consideration of the membership. Should the initiative pass, the board moves to sunset the committee on 6/30/14. K. McKenzie seconded. Motion passed. Establish a Selection Committee Evaluation Taskforce P. Holley & C. Mack Candice and Pam gave background on the work of the Board ad-hoc committee and the recommendation that further exploration be taken up by a broader, member taskforce. They discussed how creating lists of recommended reading and selecting book awards are helpful tools for current library staff, but they are not activities that create jobs and expand the number of libraries serving teens. The concern is that if teens no longer have access to school libraries, and public libraries continue to eliminate teen service librarian positions, it won't matter if YALSA creates lists of recommended reading, because libraries won t have funds for teen materials, or teens simply won t have access to libraries. In order to free up time to increase YALSA s advocacy efforts, YALSA must find ways to help the selection committees run more efficiently and seek out opportunities to leverage the lists and awards to support needed advocacy efforts. Motion #4. C. Mack moved that the YALSA Board direct the President to work with the ad-hoc chairs to develop a charge for a new member taskforce, and then appoint a taskforce comprised of recent committee chairs and O&B members that will further explore the ad-hoc committee recommendations listed in this document and explore options presented by the Nonprofit Leadership Alliance. P. Spencer Holley seconded. Motion passed. YALSAblog Reboot Chris Shoemaker, Jack Martin, Shannon Shannon shared some background on how the idea came about for a change in direction for the YALSAblog, which included sunsetting the current Blog Advisory Board. The group concurred that the timing and messaging was not ideal, but supported the need for a change in direction. Until a new YALSAblog manager is selected, Sarah Flowers has agreed to serve as interim blog manager. For February, YALSA has reached out to state library consultants to do a virtual road trip on the blog. Members of the current Blog Advisory Board are welcome to reapply to the Advisory Board under the new charge. Motion #5. C. Shoemaker moved that the YALSA board accept the proposal as presented in Document 18 and direct the President to recruit and appoint a new Advisory Board as soon as possible and oversee the search committee for a new blog manager and work with staff as needed to facilitate the transition and market the revamped blog. S. Peterson seconded. Motion passed Literacy Resources for Members --Beth Motion #6. S. Sogigian moved that the YALSA Board direct the President to 1) approve the establishment of a literacies taskforce as outlined in Item 19 and direct the President to appoint members to serve on the taskforce; and 2) reach out to appropriate member leaders and groups mentioned in the document and communicate the Board s directions to incorporate literacy focused materials into their existing efforts. G. Tobin seconded. Motion passed. -5-
YALSA Board of Directors Midwinter 2013 Establish a Future of Teens & Libraries Taskforce Shannon Motion #7. J. Martin moved that the YALSA Board approve the establishment of a Future of Teens and Libraries Taskforce and direct the President to appoint the taskforce by March 1, 2014. M. Hartman seconded. Motion passed. Prioritizing Endowment Funds Pam & Beth Motion #8. P. Spencer Holley moves that the YALSA Board direct the Executive Director to work with staff to create a grant making process in order to distribute Margaret Edwards Trust funds to members in need of funds in order to align their library collection to the principles set forth in the Future of Teens and Libraries final report. The Board directs the President to revisit the funding priorities for the MAE Trust at the Board s 2015 Midwinter Meeting in order to determine if funding priorities should remain the same or change for 2015. C. Shoemaker seconded. Motion passed. Discussion Items Saturday, Sunday and Monday Update from Executive Committee Meetings Shannon Shannon shared information about what the committee discussed. FY14 Fiscal Year Update Pam & Beth Pam and Beth shared highlights from the first quarter of FY14. Beth reminded the group that Board members can help all members understand that all YALSA revenue goes to support grants, programs, and other services to members. FY15 Budget Priorities Pam & Beth Shannon and Pam will discuss further and reframe around the Strategic Plan goals for a future Board conversation. Board & Board Member Advocacy Shannon Shannon gave some additional background and the group discussed possible next steps to encourage the Board to model advocacy for members. Motion #9. J. Martin moved that the YALSA Board direct the staff to update board contracts, recruitment materials, and job descriptions to include language related to board roles and responsibilities around advocacy and then present them to the Board for discussion and adoption; and that the YALSA Board direct the Board Standing Committee on Advocacy to visit existing nonprofit board advocacy models and to create materials to meet the needs of YALSA s mission by April 30, 2014. S. Peterson seconded. Motion passed. Advocates Board Position Proposal Shannon The group discussed the proposal and possible alternative directions. Teen Space in Every Library Concept Beth Beth shared that the genesis of this document was wanting to provide a concrete advocacy activity that would be the goal of the organization and frame our work around. There were questions about whether teen spaces was right focus and the Board will -6-
continue to discuss and refine. CE Advisory Board Recommendations Karen Keys The group discussed the report from the CE Advisory Board regarding a YALSA presence on LinkedIn particularly for professional development and career advancement. The group brought up concerns about capacity for staff or the CE Advisory to take on this task. Shannon will approach the Student Engagement Taskforce for fleshing out the plan for future Board discussion. Draft Programming Guidelines Chris Chris gave some background on the work of the taskforce to create programming guidelines that would be in line with the Futures report. The group discussed the draft and gave feedback for refinement. Teen Read Week Evaluation TF Findings Natalie Couch Shannon shared some background on this evaluation. The group discussed the findings and that this is a recognized brand for YALSA that might be leveraged better to move ideas from the Futures report forward. Motion #13. J. Martin moved that the YALSA Board direct the Capacity Building Standing Committee to synthesize the Teen Read Week Evaluation and plan a member feedback/brainstorm session for Annual 2014. S. Peterson seconded. Motion passed. Writing Award Evaluation TF Findings Laura Pearle The group discussed the findings of the taskforce as well as member feedback on the document. Motion #14. J. Martin moved that the YALSA Board direct staff to make adjustments to the Writing Award guidelines based on the discussion by the Board at Midwinter 2014 and the Evaluation Taskforce. K. McKenzie seconded. Motion passed. Motion #15. C. Land moved that the YALSA Board extend Board III for 30 minutes. J. Kim seconded. Motion passed. Creating Awareness via a National Celebration Jennifer Korn The group discussed the idea of how to leverage a National Celebration either as a singular event or as part of an existing YALSA or ALA initiative. Jennifer will incorporate Board feedback to continue to explore and flesh out this idea for the Spring Executive Committee meeting via conference call. Digital Badge for Literary Evaluation Linda & Jack The group discussed the implications for this badge as well as how it might be rolled out and incorporated into the badging structure. Linda Braun also shared updates and feedback from the session on badging at Midwinter. Motion #10. C. Shoemaker moved that the YALSA Board approve the literary evaluation badge concept as presented in Document 33 and direct the badge project manager to work with the literary course curriculum developer to develop a draft to present to the Executive Committee for their Spring 2014 call. J. Martin seconded. Motion passed. -7-
YALSA Board of Directors Midwinter 2013 Motion #11. J. Korn moved that the YALSA Board extend Board II by 10 minutes. V. Emery seconded. Motion passed. Motion #12. G. Tobin moved that the YALSA Board extend Board II by 5 minutes. C. Land seconded. Motion passed. Member Benefits Update Letitia Smith & Beth Beth shared additional background on this update particularly options for providing a more robust online community where members can connect. Informational Items N/A Guidelines for Board Meetings Board Responsibilities for 2014 Conferences FY 13 Final Close Figures & Implications for FY14 Pam & Beth 2015 Nominating Committees Rosters - Chris 2013 Friends of YALSA Donors Renee McGrath Teen Tech Week Evaluation TF Update Denise Agosto Report on Teen Spaces Project Anthony Bernier Communications Report Jaclyn Finneke Continuing Education Report Nicole Munguia Events & Conferences Report Beth Membership Report Letitia Executive Session -- Monday Executive Session Shannon An Executive Session was not called at this meeting. New Business -- Monday YALSA Councilor Midwinter Activities Update - Vicki Vicki shared updates from Council including a resolution on having links to Division and Round Table minutes posted in one place within 30 days. This resolution passed. Vicki will share notes from Youth Council Caucus. -8-
Vicki shared a resolution to allow Midwinter programs. This resolution was deferred to BARC. Adjournment -- Monday Motion #16. C. Kausch moved that the YALSA Board adjourn the YALSA Midwinter 2014 Board Meeting. J. Martin seconded. Motion passed. S. Peterson adjourned the Midwinter 2014 YALSA Board Meeting at 3:00 pm, on January 27, 2014. Respectfully submitted, Sarajo Wentling -9-